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Teen Space: Chances are that someone—a lawyer, caseworker, foster parent, or family member—has told you how important it is to attend your foster care hearings in court. After all, court is the place where important decisions are made about your life, like where you live, whether you’re getting the services you’re entitled to, family visits, and so forth. Unfortunately, many teens in care miss out on this opportunity to voice their wants and needs. Too often, they don’t think they have a role to play in court—even though the decisions made there have a huge impact on their lives. Nadica Robichaux, 20, has an all-too-common experience. “As far as I remember…I was never encouraged to go to the permanency planning hearings,” she said. But one NYC family court is trying hard to make the court experience better for teens,—and get them more involved in their cases. A year ago, Queens County Family Court opened up a special room on the 4th floor overlooking a park. The room’s called Teen Space, and I currently work there as a peer advocate. Teens Only No adults are allowed except Teen Space employees. It’s a place reserved especially for teens in care (ages 13 to 21) so they can get information and relax, away from the usual court drama, while they’re waiting for their case to be heard. And even more important, it’s a place where they can learn to advocate for themselves in the courtroom—something that doesn’t happen as much as it should. If you’re waiting for your court case in a place that looks like an institution, it’s hard to feel empowered. Unlike the dull white walls and hard benches in the main waiting areas of Family Court, Teen Space has murals drawn by youth. There are floor-to-ceiling windows, comfy sofas and chairs, computers, and friendly, smiling staff. Before Teen Space, teens often spent all day sitting on uncomfortable seats in crowded waiting areas with no privacy, where they might encounter family members they didn’t want to see. It’s noisy in those waiting areas, and tensions are high, so it’s easy for teens to feel anxious, sometimes even hopeless, by the time they get into the courtroom. . . |
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Handbooks for Youth Leaving Care You Are Not Alone, by Lawyers for Children Do You Have What It Takes? by Youth Communication Handbook for Youth in Foster Care English - Spanish |